Catching up

Some quick hit thoughts, because it's a lot easier than thinking out a post... and because I'm lazy:

1. We've been married for a year! That's kind of nuts. I don't actually have anything profound to say like advice or lessons learned. I'm just amazed that it's been a whole year since we had that blur of a day where we woke up, got dressed, said our "I do"'s, had a reception, hopped on a few planes, had a crisis checking into the hotel, and finally passed out. It's been a whole year! Here's to many more. Sharon really has been my best friend for years, and we're blessed to work as well together as we do.

2. We went on a week-long vacation split into two places: Hilton Head Island, SC, and New York City.

HHI: Sharon's grandmother has a time-share condo thingy going on with Disney, and normally they go every year to Disney World for a mini-family reunion; this year, we went to the Disney resort at Hilton Head. It was all right. We had a great time with Sharon's relatives; they're all a lot of fun. The highlight for me was the hour-long dolphin-watching boat tour of the waterways around the island.

I am not an outdoorsy person at all, but I was happy that one of us snapped this picture, and that it turned out so beautifully. It's now my desktop wallpaper. Just pretty and peaceful.
Our other boat on the lookout for dolphins! We saw a bunch of them.

NYC: I fell in love with New York City. I'd been there a few times with family or with school (for the Macy's Parade in 2002!), but this was the first time it was just Sharon and me. I really enjoy exploring a new place with Sharon. We only had about 3 days there-- there's no way to do justice to New York City in only 3 days. We stuck around in Manhattan and got to experience the frenetic pace of life in the big city; it was fantastic. I think we are both drawn to that kind of lifestyle, and New York City indulged us generously. While there, we got to go on a New York Harbor tour to see the Statue of Liberty and all skylines of the city; we met up with my cousin Wendy, my high school/church friend Mark, and my college friends Joyce and Amy; we got Sharon completely hooked on Pinkberry (which I think would make a killing if they were ever to open a place in Birmingham... but that's another blog post); we walked up and down Broadway and Fifth Avenue; experienced the craziness that is Times Square... so much going on, and we really only experienced a fraction of it. And the food-- NYC is a foodie's dream, and this, too, we only scratched the surface. I was thrilled to take Sharon to see NYC for the first time, and we would both jump at any chance to go back.

A lovely lady in front of Brooklyn Bridge

Lady Liberty. She was inspirational to see in person. I had no idea. I choked up a bit, quietly, at the thought of the sight of her greeting immigrants to America. In a roundabout way, without her, who knows what my life is like today?

We are "What Not To Wear" fans... so Sharon was really excited to shop here. Got some pretty good deals on some new kicks for her, too, I'm happy to report.

Lovely views of Central Park

A stroll down the Mall in Central Park looks like this. Gorgeous.

Yes, that's a lady in Times Square selling "Obama Condoms: For All Your Hard Times"... Hey, it's a free market, right?

The trip probably deserves just a post of it's own. I have only a few other cursory thoughts:

3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: easily the best of the HP movies so far. Romance, excitement, action... I thought it was a very well done movie. It all helps you forget that you're going to hell for supporting witchcraft. (Kidding, of course. Maybe.)

4. I have a new computer! I am typing on it as I ... type. I think it in itself isn't post-worthy, but the idea and process behind it may be. I'm no expert, but I did come up with some ideas about purchasing a new laptop. Maybe I'll stroke my ego and peddle off my lack of expertise as advice in a post sometime.

5. Speaking of stroking egos, I am still Twittering away. You can follow me with my username, @tsayguy.